View WDFW rulemaking website for 2025 Season Setting - CWD 

WAC 220-400-040 Possession of dead wildlife.

The purpose of this proposal is to:

Adjust the rule text to allow the salvage of deer and elk in Clark, Cowlitz, and Wahkiakum counties. The anticipated effect of this proposal is an expanded salvage opportunity in the counties listed above.

Require deer and elk salvagers to “submit to the department for chronic wasting disease sampling within five days of receiving a salvage permit:

1. The whole head with at least 3 inches of the neck attached or;
2. Extracted lymph nodes to the department for chronic wasting disease sampling within five days of receiving a salvage permit.” [The underlined text above is the specific proposed change]

These requirements apply to any WDFW management region where Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) has been detected. The anticipated effect of this change is increased CWD sampling within management regions where CWD has been detected and an improved understanding of CWD distribution and prevalence.

The department was requested (via petition) to consider expanding salvage of deer and elk in Clark, Cowlitz, and Wahkiakum counties. Under existing rule, salvage of deer and elk in these counties is prohibited due to concern regarding inadvertent or purposeful take and/or possession of the federally endangered Columbian white-tailed deer (CWTD) present in these counties (i.e., take or possession of this species is prohibited). The department evaluated existing data and information about roadkill of CWTD, including practices used in Oregon (where CWTD are also present), and determined the likelihood of inadvertent salvage/possession of this species is low. If this change is approved, the department will use its salvage permit form to provide important information to salvagers in these counties about Columbian white-tailed deer, including species identification (i.e., compared to black-tailed deer), what to do if a CWTD roadkill is found, and state or federal regulations relevant to CWTD.

The proposed change to salvage rules to require sample submission are associated with chronic wasting disease management. Chronic wasting disease prions accumulate in the tissues of infected cervids, even before the animal begins to show signs of disease (Sigurdson et al. 1999). Early detection of CWD in a population is critical, as successful management of the disease is more likely when prevalence is low and environmental contamination by prions is minimal (Gross and Miller 2001). There has only been one instance where CWD is believed to have been successfully eradicated from wild cervids. This was in New York, where a pre-detection surveillance program that tested thousands of animals, and a prompt and aggressive response once the first case was detected, were credited with preventing CWD from becoming established in the wild white-tailed deer population (Evans et al. 2014). The Department currently tests adult cervids throughout the state that are reported with clinical signs commonly associated with CWD, and under the current management plan continues to do so. Targeted surveillance of symptomatic animals is helpful, but alone is unlikely to detect CWD early enough for effective management intervention since infected animals can survive months to years without showing signs of the disease (Miller et al. 2000). Similarly, testing of healthy hunter-harvested or vehicle-killed cervids alone is not likely to result in early detection of CWD in new areas of Washington (Williams et al. 2002). To maximize the chances of early detection of CWD, sampling of both symptomatic and apparently healthy hunter-harvested or vehicle-killed cervids has been conducted as part of the Department’s pre-detection surveillance program since 2021. This program successfully identified the first case of CWD in Washington in 2024. However, voluntary submission from hunters and salvagers has not met sample size goals to identify early detections of CWD in other areas of the state.

With recent mandatory requirements for CWD testing in several game management units, the Department observed nearly an eight-fold increase in sample sizes (over 900 samples collected in 2024 vs. 124 samples collected the previous surveillance year in the mandatory area) that allowed for more accurate determinations of disease prevalence and geographic distribution. Subsequently, these estimates of CWD prevalence and distribution improve the efficacy of disease management, such as harvest, disposal, and outreach.

For more information regarding the citations above, visit WDFW.wa.gov – Chronic Wasting Disease Management Plan

(https://wdfw.wa.gov/publications/02292)

WAC 220-413-030  Importation and retention of dead nonresident wildlife.

The purpose of this proposal, if adopted, is to:

Modify the text in Section 1c as follows:  “To import, transport, or possess deer, elk, moose, or caribou, or parts thereof, harvested outside Washington state; from within a WDFW management region where chronic wasting disease has been detected by the Department to other management regions of the state” unless the meat has been deboned in the “[…] WDFW management region where chronic wasting disease has been detected by the Department and is transported to other regions of the state” in addition to other existing exceptions for the transport and retention of dead deer, elk, or moose. [The underlined text above is the specific proposed change]. 

Add the species moose and caribou and the terms “tribe” and “laboratory” to Section 3 of the rule: “It is unlawful for an importer or receiver of deer, elk, moose, or caribou to fail to notify the department within 24 hours if a state, province, tribe, or laboratory alerts the importer or receiver that a harvested animal has tested positive for chronic wasting disease.” [The underlined text above is the specific proposed change].  

The anticipated effect of this change if adopted, will be reduced movement of potentially CWD-infected carcasses or animal parts entering areas of the state where the disease is not present. 

The proposed changes to this rule are associated with chronic wasting disease management. Chronic wasting disease prions accumulate in the tissues of infected cervids, even before the animal begins to show signs of disease (Sigurdson et al. 1999). These prions persist in the animal’s tissues after death and will contaminate the environment as the carcass decomposes. Studies have demonstrated that infectious CWD prions from infected decomposed deer carcasses can persist in the environment for nearly two-years, presenting an exposure hazard to other cervids in the area (Miller et al. 2004). Prions that cause scrapie in domestic sheep, a disease very similar to CWD, may persist in the environment for up to 16 years (Georgsson et al. 2006). Due to the risk of importing CWD into Washington via infected carcasses or carcass parts, the Department updated WAC 220-413-030 (Importation and Retention of Dead Nonresident Wildlife) in [2021] to prohibit the importation of intact carcasses and certain carcass parts of cervids harvested outside of Washington. Now that CWD is present in Washington, similar restrictions are needed to prevent or slow the spread of the disease to other currently unaffected areas of the state. This WAC also requires hunters to notify the Department within 24 hours if they are informed that a deer or elk they harvested in another state or province subsequently tested positive for CWD. According to the Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies (AFWA), the best management practice for reducing the risk of CWD transmission and establishment via movement of hunter-harvested cervid carcasses and tissues is to prohibit the importation of intact cervid carcasses from all states and provinces (Gillin and Mawdsley, 2018). These same risk reduction management practices can be applied within state to reduce the risk of CWD transmission and establishment of CWD via movement of hunter-harvested and salvaged cervid carcasses and tissues to other disease-free areas of the state.

WAC 220-413-100 Mandatory report of hunting activity.

The purpose of this proposal, if adopted, is to require successful deer, elk, or moose hunters to “present to the department for chronic wasting disease sampling within five days of harvesting:

1. The whole head with at least 3 inches of the neck attached or;
2. Extracted lymph nodes.” [The underlined text above is the specific proposed change]

These requirements apply to any WDFW management region where CWD has been detected. The anticipated effect of this change is increased CWD sampling within management regions where CWD has been detected and an improved understanding of CWD distribution and prevalence.

Chronic wasting disease prions accumulate in the tissues of infected cervids, even before the animal begins to show signs of disease (Sigurdson et al. 1999). Early detection of CWD in a population is critical as successful management of the disease is more likely when prevalence is low and environmental contamination by prions is minimal (Gross and Miller 2001). There has only been one instance where CWD is believed to have been successfully eradicated from wild cervids. This was in New York, where a pre-detection surveillance program that tested thousands of animals, and a prompt and aggressive response once the first case was detected, were credited with preventing CWD from becoming established in the wild white-tailed deer population (Evans et al. 2014). The Department currently tests adult cervids throughout the state that are reported with clinical signs commonly associated with CWD, and under the current management plan continues to do so. Targeted surveillance of symptomatic animals is helpful, but alone is unlikely to detect CWD early enough for effective management intervention since infected animals can survive months to years without showing signs of the disease (Miller et al. 2000). Similarly, testing of healthy hunter-harvested or vehicle-killed cervids alone is not likely to result in early detection of CWD in new areas of Washington (Williams et al. 2002). To maximize the chances of early detection of CWD, sampling of both symptomatic and apparently healthy hunter-harvested or vehicle-killed cervids has been conducted as part of the Department’s pre-detection surveillance program since 2021. This program successfully identified the first case of CWD in Washington in 2024. However, voluntary submission from hunters and salvagers has not met sample size goals to identify early detections of CWD in other areas of the state.  

WAC 220-414-030  Baiting for the purposes of hunting deer or elk.

The purpose of this proposal, if adopted, is to:

In Section 1, add “moose” to the list of species and expand the definition of “bait” to “any substance that could serve as a lure, food, or attraction for deer, elk, or moose, including natural or synthetic scents that contain or are derived from cervid urine and glandular extracts. [The underlined text above is the specific proposed change].

Prohibit the use of bait for the purpose of attracting deer, elk, or moose with the intent to hunt them. The anticipated effect of this change is the prohibition of the use of bait for the purpose of hunting statewide.

Adjust the exception for the use of scents to specify that only scents that “do not contain or are derived from cervid urine and glandular extracts” are permissible for the purpose of hunting deer, elk, or moose.

The anticipated effect of these changes, if adopted, is a clarification of what defines bait for the purpose of hunting and a restriction on permissible use of products that aid hunters in their pursuit of deer, elk or moose; a restriction on the type of scent used for the purpose of hunting; and an overall reduction of the risk of introducing CWD into the state by reducing unnatural concentration of deer, elk, or moose, and from scent products (i.e., urine, glandular products) potentially contaminated with CWD. 

The proposed changes to this rule are associated with chronic wasting disease management. Baiting and recreational or supplemental feeding of any wildlife species has the potential to artificially concentrate animals (Janousek et al. 2021) and increase the transmission of infectious disease agents among them (Sorenson et al. 2014). Attraction of animals to artificial feed can also result in contamination of the feedstuffs and the environment by disease agents, such as prions, that are present in saliva, urine, and feces of CWD-infected cervids (Mathiason et al. 2009, Henderson et al. 2015, Plummer et al. 2017). For example, it has been demonstrated that white-tailed deer with CWD deposit prions at mineral licks, creating environmental reservoirs of CWD prions (Plummer et al. 2018). According to the Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies (AFWA), the best management practice to reduce the risk of CWD transmission and establishment through unnatural concentrations of cervids, is for states and provinces to eliminate the baiting and feeding of all wild cervids using regulatory mechanisms, such as jurisdictional bans (Gillin and Mawdsley, 2018). CWD prions are shed in the urine of infected deer for months to years before they show signs of disease, and an infected deer may shed thousands of infectious doses during its lifetime (Henderson et al. 2015). There are currently no practical tests to detect the presence of CWD prions in urine. Hunters use commercial urine-based products to mask human scent and to attract deer, particularly males, within shooting range. These products are readily available for purchase at sporting goods stores and online. The urine used in these products is collected from deer in captive facilities, typically using a grate system that also collects feces and other excretions (Spitznagel 2012) and is frequently batched/combined from multiple captive cervid facilities (Nark 2017). Deer urine production and sales are not regulated by any agency, nor are there any testing or labeling requirements for urine products. The Archery Trade Association (ATA) offers a voluntary certification program for deer urine businesses which is designed to mitigate the risk of spreading CWD via commercial deer urine products. However, there are shortcomings with the ATA certification program (Gillin and Mawdsley, 2018), and the organization has no technical ability or regulatory authority to detect or prevent the distribution of contaminated urine products. According to AFWA, the best management practice for reducing the risk of CWD transmission and establishment through use of natural cervid urine-based products is to “eliminate the sale and use of natural cervid urine-based products” (Gillin and Mawdsley, 2018).